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Arts Tri-Mentoring Program with Emily Huang

Emily Huang is a 2nd Year Human Geography Major and the incoming GSA VP External

What prompted you to join the Arts Tri-Mentoring Program?

I was actually part of the YWCA mentorship program in high school and when I found out UBC had a mentorship program, I joined right away! Since high school, I have always wanted to become a Speech Language Pathologist (SLP) and I had a SLP mentor in the UBC Tri-Mentoring Program. However, after job shadowing her and taking several linguistics and psychology courses, I knew I did not want to go into that field. I remembered I really enjoyed Geography in high school and decided to take a geography course during the summer term. I loved it and that is how I ended up in Geography instead. The following year, I decided to join the Tri-Mentoring Program again, this time in Geography.

Who were you paired up with?

I was paired up with Katie Eliot. She majored in Geography here at UBC and was very involved in the Geography Department and the UBC community. She brought me to her workplace at Langara College as well as some conferences and workshops.

What did your meetings with your mentors consist of? What did you do or talk about?

Meetings consisted of just chatting at coffee shops, visiting my mentor’s workplace, working on my presentation, and resume and interview skills to visiting conferences and workshops. However, being in this program consisted of more than just meeting my mentor on a monthly basis. Being part of the Tri-Mentorship program also allowed me to attend Arts Xplorations where I met and networked with many professionals outside of the field of Geography such as Psychology, Business, Law, Fine Arts, and the Non-Profit sector. I also met many students who were actually part of the Geography Department as well.

How do you think you’ve benefited from the program?

I definitely benefited a lot. If it was not for this program it would have taken me longer to find my way into the Geography Department! I learned how to better network with other professionals and students, as well as improving my interview skills which is probably my greatest weakness. I also met many amazing Geography students who I still talk to when I see them in the building. However, I think the best part of this program is being able to meet and network with students and professionals, learn about their field of study and how they got to where they are right now.